Now I know why I kept the lobster picks

There ‘s a whole section of forgotten utensils and dining accessories stashed in a few drawers in my dining room: Pretty beaded napkin rings, Nambe candlestick holders, a pottery sushi serving set, and of course, two sets of lobster eating utensils.

The last time I had lobster was New Year’s Eve, three years ago. Damon and his buddy decided to cook for me and a friend he was dating. We girls dressed up and sat by ourselves in the living room for the better part of two hours while the guys worked very sweetly and fervently in the kitchen behind a curtain. Sometime before midnight we all enjoyed a lobster dinner, and boy, it was a good thing I had the proper hardware with which to eat them!

I was pleased yet again today, when I was rooting through the junk kitchen gadget drawer; this is different from the plain old junk drawer that exists on the other side of the stove, for just the right thing to remove Moon Dough, from the Moon Dough barnyard playset thing that Mollie got at her birthday party, and, aha! The lobster pick stood out as the perfect solution.

Let me take the slightest moment here, to explain Moon Dough, if you are unaware: it is a toy modeling medium similar to playdough not only it’s ability to be ground into each and every textile it is exposed to, but also in it’s propensity to turn poop neon colors when eaten. In other words, an “outdoor toy.” In still other words, “only arrives in your house from someone else.”

The Moon Dough was pretty packed in the toy mold, but as I discovered at Toys R Us yesterday, while replenishing the Moon Dough supply for our house (Mollie’s party was just last week, but it’s been a steady favorite activity ever since) it goes for about $2.50 per ounce, so I wanted to fish out as much as possible before cutting my losses.

So, there I was, standing in my kitchen today, picking Moon Dough out of a plastic barn, evaluating my life as it currently stands. I was thinking about the two matching sets of cloth place mats I registered for and received for my wedding shower, some of which I still have, some of which have been victims of candle wax, silly putty or glue sticks. I thought about the few cookie cutters jammed in that drawer and how I never have rolled out sugar cookie dough with my bright eyed preschoolers and let them have at it. The most action that puppies have seen is the occasional shaped peanut butter sandwich.

As a side note, I should explain that I would add sugar cookie making to the to-do list if “make-your-own-pizza-night” didn’t make me a crazy woman. Who came up with that idea anyway? And on a Friday night no less! We did it this past Friday night, and as I watched shredded cheese get dragged from the bag, across the counter and in the cracks between the cabinets and major appliances, I whined to Damon, “this is supposed to be magical! This is what everyone does! I interviewed people about their family traditions, and right at the top of the list was, ‘make-your-own-pizza-night,’ on Friday! What’s wrong with me? I wish I’d ordered a pizza and I feel awful about it.” Let’s hope it was magical for the two girls making the mess pizza.

And then, I thought about how I hadn’t eaten lobster in 3 years, even though we like it, and it’s not out of our price point to be a “sometimes” as the 21st Century Cookie Monster would say. It just doesn’t cross my mind. When I make my menu and grocery list, it’s about the people. When I think about setting the table, it’s about practicality. I’m now trying to decide if that’s just fine for the season I’m in, or if I should intentionally set the table with the beaded napkin rings sometimes – even if they’re just holding a few rolled paper towels?

I haven’t answered myself yet, but I do have a question for you. If you’ve gifted my children, at any point in their lives, with Moon Dough, could you please identify yourselves?

One Response

Loved this post! We actually bought our kids Moon Dough when they were younger thinking they would love it, but (luckily, I guess!) they never really took a shine to it. They are going to try to sell it a their garage sale next month which means soon, another mom is going to wonder how the heck she ended up with the stuff!